earlygreekmythfandomcom-20200213-history
Kirstin Boe Mythology Project
Olympia B 975 Early Greek Myth: Page 305 Museum Location: Dytiki Ellada, Greece Museum Name: Olympia Archaeological Museum Accession Number: B975 Link to Picture: http://www.iconiclimc.ch/visitors/imageview.php?source=142&image_id=10453&term=Olympia+B+975 Website Name: iconiclimc London B155 Early Greek Myth: Page 305 Museum Location: London, UK Museum Name: British Musuem Accession Number: B155 Link to Picture: http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/E4517DA8-BAA6-4368-8D6D-AEC9C341B66C Website Name: Beazley Database Delos B7263 Early Greek Myth: Page 306 Museum Location: Dilos Island, Greece Museum Name: Archaeological Museum of Delos Accession Number: B7263 Links to Pictures: http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/P24.1.html http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Graiai.html Website: Theoi Delos B7263 Assessment The citation “Delos B7263” in Early Greek Myth, on page 306, cites a fragment of a vase depicting a scene between Perseus and the Graeae. The fragment is an attic red figure vase, and the shape of the vase is Krater, or bell-shaped. The piece is currently at the Archaeological Museum of Delos and is attributed to the Phiale Painter. The fragment dates back to around 425 BC, during the Classical Period. On the vase fragment, a scene between Perseus and the Graiai is portrayed. Perseus’s quest was to find the Gorgon Medusa to cut off her head and return it to Polydectes, a man who was threatening to marry his unwilling mother. However, to find Medusa, he needed to find the Graeae, three witches who shared one eye and one tooth, so they could tell him where to find items he needed for his quest. When he arrived to the Graeae’s layer, they refused to help him with his journey. So, in order to get the information he needed, Perseus stole the eye of the Graeae and held it as leverage until they told him where he needed to go. In the krater fragment, it shows Perseus moving away from one of the Graeae sisters during their encounter, probably holding the eye as one sister sits blind. Compared to the literary sources, this rendition of the meeting between the Graeae and Perseus seems to be accurate. However, on the fragment, there is only one of the three Graeae sisters. Perhaps, though, the other two sisters are on the other part of the unfound vase. The depiction of Perseus also looks accurate, as he is wearing the cap of Hades to be invisible and the winged shoes of Hermes to travel. The fact that Perseus is sneaking away does not seem to make much sense, as he used the eye to get the information from the sisters. However, the whole work is not there so it is hard to tell what the artist had in mind for the interpretation of the scene. Overall, the scene on the fragment gives an accurate portrayal of the story. Personally, I don’t think there is much detail on the vase fragment. However, I believe it shows a good depiction of what happened between the hero and the Graeae. Since the piece is only a fragment, there is probably more on the complete vase of what the artist had in mind when he painted the vase. In my opinion, I had the idea that the sisters were ugly and wicked looking. The piece, however, shows the one sister as a normal looking person. Besides that discrepancy, I think the depiction of the encounter seems to be accurate as the Graeae is obviously sitting without any eyes, and the hero Perseus is wearing the winged boots of Hermes and the cap of Hades. Bibliography Gantz, Timothy. "Chapter 10." Early Greek Myth. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1993. N. pag. Print. Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. Classical Mythology, Images & Insights. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. "Perseus & the Graeae." Theoi. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.